BofA lags in modifying loans under settlement

(Reuters) - Bank of America Corp hasn't completed any first-mortgage modifications that reduce loan balances for borrowers so far under a $25 billion settlement reached this year, the official monitoring the agreement said Wednesday.

Five financial institutions that are part of the settlement have provided $10.6 billion in consumer relief from March 1 to June 30, with $8.7 billion in the form of short sales in which customers sell their homes for less than the mortgage's value. Bank of America produced $4.8 billion in short sales, the most of the five banks, according to the first report by settlement monitor Joseph Smith.

JPMorgan Chase & Co completed $367 million in first lien modifications in which borrowers had their loan balances reduced, about half of all modifications.

The other institutions in the settlement are Wells Fargo & Co, Citigroup Inc and Ally Financial Inc.

The five lenders reached the agreement in March with federal officials and state attorneys general to resolve allegations they mishandled foreclosures.

The settlement requires them to provide around $20 billion in consumer relief by reducing loan balances for struggling borrowers and refinancing loans for customers whose homes are worth less than the value of their mortgages.

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